we've dipped into the 20s and 30s in most areas this morning. so you need the heavier coats and gloves this morning. under clear skies. 35 at national. that's one of the warm e spots. 43 by -- warmer spots. 43 by noon. we'll have a sunny day. maybe passing clouds this afternoon with temperatures topping out in the mid-40s, 46, perhaps 47. a lot colder. winds turning to the southeast but they'll be light today at about 5 miles an hour. we have a little bit after breeze right along the bay in some of the exposed areas but most areas have light winds. clear skies thanks to the clouds that have come and gone overnight. they're out of here. so with the clear skies and light winds, we have cold. luray is 27 this morning. off to the east it's 28 even at andrews. south of town we have just over freezing. 34 in the fredricksburg area and only going into the mid- 40s. you'll want to bundle up and grab the sunglasses. it's 6:00 straight up. monika samtani talking pineapples and other issues. >> you're right. they've all been on major

thoroughfares unfortunately this morning. i'll start off with the overturned truck we've been telling you about since early this morning. in fact, this happened right around 2:00 on the outer loop near i-270. i'm going to step out and show you what we're talking about. it's annual overturned truck -- an overturned truck that was carrying pineapples. crews are on the scene. i had a close-up look at it and they're offloading the truck as we speak. but they had to set up all the arrow boards and cones. we're showing you that delay. as traffic begins to increase, the volume will slow down as you travel westbound on the beltway trying to get to 270 and beyond. if you look to the right side of your screen, it's not affecting the exit to 27 on so you should be okay here. it's just going to be that delay. now to the northbound side of 395 where there was an accident this morning. everything has been moved to the shoulder but of course it affected traffic. expected to be pretty solid coming up from springfield now into landmark. beyond that it's okay up to seminary road and the 14th street bridge. here at 66 and nutley, all

lanes are open. i'll be back with more coming up at 6:11. back to you guys. >> thanks, monika. the annual national christmas tree lighting ceremony will be held later today. the event is celebrating its 90th birthday. >> it's been going on since 1923 when calvin coolidge was president. it's posted by the national park service. this year president obama and his family will be flipping the switch like they did last year with help from scott tucker with more on what we can expect. good morning, delia. >> reporter: good morning. it's going to be a wonderful day. bundle up if you're heading down. i will tell you off the bat. the ceremony begins at 5:00 with a completely new perspective. we are giving you an up close and personal look at the lighting ceremony because take a look. we are the closest that we've been so far in the history of covering this event. if you take a close look at the backdrop, we are looking at the

white house, folks. it is a spectacular view thanks to the hard work of the folks at the national park service who actually rearranged the seating to make this happen. scott turner is here to tell us more about that. how did you pull this off? >> one of the big changes this year is we took the stage and sort of turned it 90 degrees. the stage was overlooking the christmas tree. today as you see the christmas tree is the backdrop of the stage. what better backdrop than what we're looking at today. and two, christmas on the eliption, we have musical -- ellipse, we have musical performances on the smaller stage in the center all month long. that will be the backdrop for the ceremony and activities that happen here. >> reporter: let's talk about the star of the show, the christmas tree. this is a fairly new christmas tree because of a storm that blew through the area last year. >> it's a new tree. we transplanted it in october of this year. if we go back two years february 2011, a storm blew through, knocked over the

living tree planted in 1978. we transplanted a new tree in 2011. that tree didn't make it. so we removed that earlier this summer and transplanted this one, a 30-foot colorado blue spruce we hope will be here for many years to come. >> reporter: once this wraps up, you're back into the holiday season again planning for next year. tell me about just the logistics, just about all it takes to pull this off. >> definitely. it's all a partnership is what it comes down to. the national park service. it is the national park foundation, our nonprofit partner and its volunteers that work on this site. we start in october preparing the site. we brought in volunteers from andrews air force base who helped us set up some of the walkways and the picket fences you see. the national park foundation coordinates the opening ceremonies that we're going to celebrate tonight. and over october through now, it's finding site lines, locations of stages, press risers and finding the infrastructure so that the

20,000 visitors that come tonight have the best shot. and folks that visit over the next three weeks experience christmas in washington, d.c. >> reporter: a celebration for the nation honestly and really for the folks who are coming here and for you at home, make sure you stay tuned. at 5:00 we will bring this to you live. so watch us later tonight. if you can't make it out here, make sure to watch us because we will bring you up close and personal to all the celebrations happening here. coming up at 6:30, we'll tell what you to bring if you are coming down and what you should probably leave at home. we'll see you in a half-hour. mike, annual dray ya, back -- mike, andrea, back to you. >> thank you, delia goncalves. 9news continues to prepare us for the upcoming fiscal cliff and how it will impact your money. >> jessica doyle is helping lead the effects on you team. this morning she's talking about how falling off that cliff will affect students in the classroom. jess? >> that's right. thanks so much. the fiscal cliff could hit our schools hard. it could be especially tough for programs that help children in need. joining me this morning is meg,

the president of the national education association of virginia. we also have national nea representative dennis roikle with us as well. thank you for coming in so early this morning. >> good to be here. >> i want to start with you. overing picture, -- overarching picture, what is the big picture? what can we stand to lose because of the cliff? >> if nothing is double, it will be across the -- is done, it will be across the board cuts that translates into $4.8 billion. it will impact nine million kids, including 80,000 in head start. it will take a million dollars out of special education and we'll do awfully those cuts to kids and education so the wealthiest 2% of americans can have a tax cut. doesn't make sense. >> you're talking about spending on the federal level. you have to think about the money flowing through local

coffers. fairfax county, the biggest school district in our region but a lot of people at home might be surprised that a quarter of kids are on reduced or free lunches. can they get by without those? >> they can't. when we look at the cuts to free and reduced lunch which would effect the title one cutting as well but it's also not just or most vulnerable students. we're looking at our students with special education needs. you're looking at all of those services being cut, diminished and that's not fair to our kids who need the most from us. >> special education and other special needs programs have already taken a pretty big cut in funding, haven't they, over the last couple of years? >> yes. in virginia since 2009, the state support for public schools per pupil has been cut 20%. localities have been forced to make up that difference. localities don't have that kind of money to do that, even in fairfax county.

>> you're lobbying congress. >> yes, ma'am. >> are they hearing you? >> i hope they are. i've had the opportunity to speak with senator warner personally. and he is very concerned obviously about this cliff and we're trying to make sure take he understands that behind every one of these dollar cuts is a child in need. >> dennis, what do you think about the lawmakers? do you think they're hearing the call that this funding needs to continue and if not, what can people at home do to get the word out? >> we're making sure our members know how serious this is and for them to contact their members of congress. but anyone can go to edvotes.org/kidsnotcuts. there will be opportunities to send messages to congress and let them know that cuts are not what we need. we need to fund education for kids all across this country. >> thank you so much for coming in this morning and shining the spotlight on the kids which sometimes can get lost in the politics. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> andrea and mike?

>> thanks, jess. learning what science tastes like. >> chemistry in the kitchen, you bet. cool schools is coming up next.

howard here with your weather first. you'll need the heavy coats. down to the 20s in a few spots. it will be a sharply colder

day, sunny with a few afternoon clouds here and there. lunch time temperature of 43. we'll only top out in the mid- 40s. i'll be back with a warmer weekend forecast in just a few minutes. owward on the northbound side of 395, we've been telling you about an accident sitting on the shoulder north of duke street but before seminary road. more equipment has arrived on the scene. now original the two left lanes get through. expect delays as you come up from springfield. coming up in my next report, i'll also explain a situation going on in bethesda on the beltway at 6:18. back to you guys. thursday morning cool schools time is here. we this morning are learning what science tastes like. the students in d.c. did their lab work on location. they went to a place where molecules and a master chef made for a tasty lesson. >> reporter: love the taste of hot peppers but not the heat?

a little chemistry in the kitchen with make that happen. this gadget is called a roto evaporator. >> basically what we're doing is we have lady bug peppers so we're extracting all the flavor without the heat. >> reporter: chef rj not only knows how to tempt the taste buds. >> try that. sour. super sour, right? >> reporter: he and his team know the science behind it, too, and they're sharing their knowledge with fifth graders from two rivers charter school in d.c. >> do you have to use chem stray in cooking? >> reporter: yes. they're on a chemistry expedition and they came armed with questions. >> what does freezing food do to the at toms and molecules which cause it to get hard? >> why does food taste good to one person but bad to the other? >> reporter: seeing how heat transfers and chemical reactions take place in an

everyday setting really creates an appetite for learning according to teacher jodi. >> when you make it real for kids, that's when the real learning happens and they get excited about it. they're engaged. when they actually do the cooking which is some of what we do in class as well, that's when the true learning does happen. >> reporter: like this lesson about liquid nitrogen when you add vanilla flavoring and milk. >> is it edible? >> no. >> wrong. totally edible. >> reporter: it's instant ice real. as we all know, a little new knowledge always goes down easier with free lunch. >> this is a really nice place. we get to have food and learn a lot more about chemistry. >> it was a lot of fun and they got free lunch on the back end of that if you have a cool school, send me an e-mail. great place to try out rogue 24. coming up, bet your science

class wasn't that interesting or tasty. >> no, a beaker blew up. wasn't much fun. weather wise, let's get you going with a look the at bus stop forecast. chilly schools this morning. temps down in the 20s and 30s. clear skies. we have generally light winds although some areas right along the bay may have a little gust or two. sunrise not until 7:13. we're looking at sunshine today. light winds this afternoon, southeast at 5:00. maybe a passing cloud. look at the temps a lot colder yesterday with 43 another noon. by 3:00 45. i think we might get a 46, 47 about 2:00, 2:30. by the dive home at 6:00 still cold and 42. this morning we're down to 23 in manassas and frederick while gaithersburg and ashburn are 28. centreville also 28 degrees with burke at 29. we had 28 at bowie and 30 in laurel. outside on our michael & son weather camera, a nice wiet morning. our -- quiet morning. you're looking at the capitol

dome. reagan national's windchill makes it feel like 26 and the air is really dried out. if you're thinking where's winter, it's all the way up in canada and alaska and some of the mountains out west. you see the white and pink here, that's the really, really cold stuff. but normal cold here, nothing exceptional and nothing is going to head our way, as long as we're looking at the jet stream which moves west to east across the country right now. if fact, the next system in the great lakes and the northern mississippi valley with some rain showers, it's moving west to southeast. so out ahead of it winds turn south and southwesterly and warmer temperatures get drawn northward. that's going to be the case starting tomorrow. today we've got clear skies, front well to our south. that's the one that moved through yesterday morning with the unexpected showers. yeah, there were a few more than i thought. today it will be quiet and cold and sunny with temperatures in the mid-40s. maybe upper 40s. clouds increase tonight toward tomorrow morning. in fact, tomorrow our futurecast trying to spit a few showers out, even in the morning north and west of d.c.

by 1:00 looks pretty quiet although mostly cloudy, maybe an isolated shower for the north in the afternoon. milder air will return as we head in toward the weekend. as you're looking at the temps today, our weather alerts are all green today. today dry, 46. tonight back to about 35 in d.c. with upper 20s north and west as clouds increase. tomorrow i think we're going to see a mostly cloudy day. could be an early shower north and west and then again a late shower, high 54 but milder saturday with the early shower, of 4. -- 64. sunday and monday back in the 60s. low 60s sunday. upper 60s monday. we may see a late shower sunday and i hope that doesn't impact the redskins-ravens game on wusa at 1:00. monday maybe a storm with the next front. let's go to monika at 6:17 with a look at timesaver traffic. quite a lot to tell you. there are two hot spots this morning. one in bethesda and one down in landmark. i'm going to start off with the north side of town. on the outer loop of the beltway around 2:00 this morning, we had an overturned truck carrying pineapples. they've been offreceivedding it

ever since -- offloading it ever since. let's take a live look at sky 9. if you're planning to head over to the outer loop westbound 495, you can see all the activity. arrow boards and cones set up. it will be a while. they told us at least through the rush hour before they can clear it up. luckily you've got that exit to 270 open, you're okay. but all this activity is definitely going to slow you down. it looks like these safety vehicles are also headed on the beltway slowly to the accident scene. so again on the outer loop as you head through silver spring, expect to hit those brakes. they're going to extend into bethesda this morning because of this activity heading for i- 270. that overturned truck carrying pineapples. i was just on the phone with virginia state police. this was a four-car accident that happened about an hour ago just north of duke street but before seminary road. your two left lanes get by. going over to the traffic land camera, delays really extend in newington up to springfield through landmark before the

pace improves. i'll have more on both of those situations at 6:25. back to you guys. at 6:19, time for another look at our question of the morning. it is the average american woman buys 17 of these every year. is it a, pairs of shoes, b, bottles of wine, or c, smartphone apps? >> kendra thinks the answer is a. a woman can't have too many pairs of shoes. >> we'll have more of your responses and the correct answer in 30 minutes.

welcome back. 6:22. your weather first on this thursday morning. a much colder morning than we've seen this week with temperatures in the 20s and 30s which is pretty normal for this time of year. we're going to have a chilly day, a sunny day. thankfully the winds will be fairly light as temperatures climb only into the mid-40s. one thing you'll notice the winds will become southeast at 5 miles an hour. so that will make it a little

bit more bearable. michael? >> thank you, howard. we have an update on a story we first brought to you yesterday morning. the hit and run on west diamond avenue in gaithersburg that we reported on yesterday is now being called a homicide by police. investigators say two brothers hitched a ride from someone driving a honda civic. a short time later they were dropped off and moments after that, that honda ran them down. one of those brothers was killed. the other one was injured. police found the car just a few blocks away. they are still looking for the driver, though. a new study could change the way women are treated for breast cancer. british researchers have found taking the drug tamoxifen for a longer period of time could have big benefits. researchers are suggesting women take tamoxifen for ten years, twice the recommended -- the recommendation. >> the benefits are particularly in the second ten

years. that's very helpful i think for that group of women who really have been worrying until now. >> there are about 230,000 new cases of breast cancer each year. tamoxifen affects estrogen in a woman's body and carries side effects like blood clots, hot flashes and nausea but doctors say the risk of serious side effects is low. nominees for the 55th annual grammy awards were revealed last night. you saw it right here on cbs and six different artists are tied for the most nominations. they are kanye west, and more. the awards will be february 10 in los angeles and you can see it on cbs. itself national christmas tree will be alive with color when the first family flips the switch later today. if you're heading to the

ellipse for the ceremony, lots of things you should know, including some things you should leave at home. >> an exciting day for the area. how i met your mother starring neil patrick harris is hosting the big event. he hosts all the big events these days. we'll have a full rundown on the fest i.s when we -- festivities when we return. we know that will be a traffic jam for people with tickets. what about now? here is a live look of the overturned truck carrying pineapples this morning. you will get by with delays to the left side of the roadway. more details coming up in my next report. you're watching 9news. stay with us.

good morning. we're back. 6:29. always the place to get your weather first. a live look at the beautiful skyline of our nation's capitol

with the jefferson memorial and washington monument standing tall. it is 35 chilly degrees colder some some parts of the viewing area. thank you for starting your day with us. i'm andrea roane. i'm mike hydeck. howard bernstein is bundled up on the weather terrace and needs to be because it's definitely chilly. >> got the gloves, the jacket. earlier in the week i was sign in a suit jacket but a much, much colder morning out here, 20, 30 degrees colder than this time yesterday. we start with the day planner. it's going to be sunny and the winds will be relatively light today, turning southeast at 5 miles an hour. but much colder. 43 at noon with a high today about 46, 47 and sunrise not until 7:13. just starting to see a little nice glow in the southeast sky but the third quarter moon shining brightly overhead thanks for the clouds that went through and left us. we're left with mostly clear sky this morning and temperatures on the cold side. down to 23 in cumberland and frederick it's 27. for winchester and luray and

culpeper 27. annapolis 38. even the pax river naval air station holding on to a little warm at 36. look for a sunny day, maybe a passing cloud with la in gaithersburg -- with 45 in gaithersburg. 46 at andrews. i'll be back in a few minutes and i have good news about warmer temperatures for the weekend. here's monika samtani. she has a look at timesaver traffic. metro's green and yellow line is single tracking right now between greenbelt and college park so expect delays through that stretch on the green and yellow lines between greenbelt and college park. now let's get to the information you'll need to know about the beltway. outer loop side where there was an overturned truck carrying pineapples since 2:00 this morning. they've been offloading it and dealing with that situation ever since. i have been on the phone with maryland state police and state highway. let's first take a live look from our sky 9 at the situation here where you will be able to see the traffic heading on the outer loop toward i-270.

activity up ahead. let's go to our own live shot from mike who is at the scene right now showing us what it looks like. if you're planning to head over here, this is the situation. the truck was carrying pineapples. it's being offloaded. they're waiting for another tow truck and wrecker to arrive on the scene. the outer loop delays stretch across to silver spring where i believe there's another accident on georgia avenue. so quite a mess on the north side of town. the northbound side of 395 there's an accident on the shoulder north of duke street causing delays coming up from newington. i'll be back with more information at 6:43. time to see what our partners at cbs this morning are covering. >> charlie rose standing by in new york with a preview. good morning, charlie. >> reporter: good morning. you've been covering the virginia woman being sued for the negative comments she posted. so we'll ask our legal analyst what you need to know before you post reviews online and talk to the doctor overseeing the trial of a new alzheimer's

treatment. plus, a 60 minutes trip left anderson cooper blind for 36 hours. he'll be in studio 57 when we see you at 7:00. >> all right, charlie. looking forward to that story. very important about how he damaged his retina, too. >> he will see us, too, but through one eye. have a great morning, charlie. >> good to talk to you. the first family will light the national christmas tree later today. it's a 90-year-old tradition started by president calvin coolidge. >> this year's giant blue spruce was transplanted in october. delia goncalves is live on the ellipse with what to expect and some tips if you're headed down there. good morning, delia. >> reporter: good morning, mike, andrea. it's going to be a great day. here we have a wonderful view of the tree and the white house and here to tell us more about what folks can expect when they come down here, scott turner from the national park service, 20,000 people expected to come. what are the dos and don'ts? >> the big dos are make sure you bring your ticket.

if you don't have a ticket, you'll have problems getting into the site. enter the ellipse from 17th street. you will be walking through security. just like if you're at the airport, all the things you can't bring on an airplane you will not be able to bring on the ellipse tonight. >> reporter: no knives. >> no pocket knives, no aerosols, no mace on your key chains, anything like that. but do bring blankets, your gloves, hats and definitely bring your camera. >> reporter: i want to talk about the pathway of peace. this is the kickoff for that event, a month long. what's different. >> it's the 56 state and territorial and district of columbia trees that sound the national christmas tree. come down 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. through new year's day. >> reporter: thank you for joining us. i'm pivot over to talk to john with ul. i was struggling with the last name. let's talk -- this is the

fourth year you've sponsored this event responsible for the fabulous twinkling lights on the tree. tell us about the safety tips folks can bring home for the holiday. >> everybody is so busy. we need to take a few seconds to think about safety. water your tree. no matter how well you keep your tree watered, it will only last a maximum of four weeks so you have to be careful. when you bring out the lights, take a look at them. if you see broken wires, cracks, get rid of them. recycle them. make sure when you're decorating outside, don't use metal nails or staples that can damage the wiring. could be a shock hazard or even a fire hazard. you don't want that. you want the holidays to be mechaniccable for all the right reasons and be careful on ladders. 13,000 people get injured every year and go to hospital emergency rooms because of decorations. so they fall off of ladders, cut themselves, have fires. so you have to be careful. a lot of people are going to emergency rooms because of decorations which is completely

unnecessary. >> just take the time to follow the safety tips and we'll have a great safe holiday season. >> that's our wish and that's why we always say -- and with candles too. make sure to keep them away from the flammable decorations, the wrapping paper and your tree. >> reporter: thank you so much. those were great tips. you squeezed them all in in about a minute. he's wonderful. to kick off your holiday season, why don't you come down to the ellipse. if you don't have a ticket for the national tree lighting ceremony tonight, you can watch us live at 5:00. we will have an up close and personal look at the celebration happening tonight and all of the musical performances that will hit the stage beginning at 5:00. we'll send it back to you. >> delia goncalves there live on the ellipse. of course, it's a three-week ceremony so you can go down and see what's happening till january 1. >> that is true. district officials say they are now calling an early morning fire an arson.

this is in the 1700 block of minnesota avenue in southeast. the fire they say was caused by gasoline and occupants in the four units are now in temporary housing. here we go. america is now one day closer. we're talking about this every day about the fiscal cliff and yet major players are still not sitting down to talk. >> but there was some encouraging news yesterday. president obama and house speaker john boehner did speak on the telephone. right now, though, there's no evidence any future negotiations are scheduled. a new poll by the associated press shows 48% of those asked support letting tax cuts expire january 1 for those earning more than $250,000 a year. but extending them for everyone else. >> just 32% think the cuts should be extended across the boards. >> at 6:37 rchtion it's time for -- at 6:37, it's time for another your money report. >> jessica doyle is talking about the real possibility we

actually will indeed go over the cliff. >> they say good things come to those who wait except maybe in the case of the fiscal cliff. timothy geithner said the administration will absolutely take the leap. but some say both sides could wait till january to get down to business without any big economic consequences. the expiration of the bush tax cuts forcing tax rates higher on 90% of americans won't be felt right away. some economists actually call this the fiscal float instead of the cliff because the impact would be felt gradually. however, "the wall street journal" reports others sharply disagree. they argue that quickly undoing the damage double from the cliff dive would have big consequences. some possible ways here. it could prompt sell-offs on wall street. we've already seen those. it could also further dampen consumer confidence in washington. we saw that during the debate last year over raising the federal debt ceiling.

looking overseas, it's interesting to get a read on how other countries are perceiving the fiscal cliff fight on capitol hill. the"the washington post" ran through head lines in international papers. the gist of the coverage, china thinks the bickering in the u.s. is irresponsible. the people's daily says especially coming from a country that often tells other nations to be responsible. of course that's a big mouth piece for the communist party, that particular newspaper. heading across the pond to our friends in the uk, the financial times is blaming the g.o.p. for the inability to reach a deal thus far. and some german newspapers have started comparing the u.s. to greece. i've got to tell you, that's not really the fairest of comparisons. for the record, the headline in the post was, the rest of the world thinks the fiscal cliff is ridiculous. i think a lot of people here would agree with that headline. >> it's interesting -- i heard a report about it calling it slow, too, that it would take

effect gradually. let's just get it done. bright but brisk today and cold again tonight. >> will it get milder? a big football game for this region coming up this weekend. howard will have the answer when we return. two big football games in fact. your weather coming up after this gorgeous shot of the sunrise. keep it here.

welcome back to 9news. monika here with your timesaver traffic. you'll want to listen up for sure if you're headed to the beltway north of town in bethesda. i'll explain what's been going on since 2:00 this morning. on the outer loop you're looking at a truck that had overturned just past the exit for northbound i-270. maryland state police tell me he admitted he was going too fast and lost control and overturned there. by the way, he was carrying a load of pineapples. that is what's taking so long. they have to offload the entire

truck of pineapples before they can reopen the lane. this is what you're looking at with the boxes now out of the truck. truck is still overturned here. that's what's taking so long. let's take a look at the delay from our mdot camera. solid through silver spring. i believe this extends almost back to new hampshire avenue or even 95 now on the outer loop heading westbound. that entire northern stretch of the beltway is going to be slow right over to 270. by the way, you can exit to northbound 270 but i suggest that maybe you want to use the icc today as your alternate route. let's go over to the northbound side of 395. this is also a long-standing accident. there were four cars involved in landmark. all of your lanes are open but the activity on the shoulder is what's causing your delay. i would say from newington right up to landmark where the lanes are open. the pace is good beyond this to the 14th street bridge. i'll be back with more at 6:58. i hope you have better news than me. >> much better. a little colder, though.

>> the sun is going to be out. it will be dry and the winds will be light. even though the colder air has moved in, it's not going to be that bad or lasting all that long as well. warmer temperatures on the way. the bus stop forecast, definitely need to bundle up. i had the ear muffs on a few minutes ago when i was on the weather terrace. temperatures in the 20s and 30s this morning. we're still 25, 30 minutes away from the sunrise at 7:13. our day planner, we'll get a good deal of sunshine as temperatures climb into the lower 40s by lunch time. we'll top out about 46. by 4:00 45 and by 8:00 p.m. 40 degrees with a wind light out of the southeast at about 5 miles an hour. temperatures this morning -- let me back that up and show you this. temperatures this morning are in the 20s there. some places the low 20s like manassas and frederick 23 but

27 for culpeper. 31 easton and 32 in fredricksburg. when you look back 24 hours ago, significant dropoff. it's 31 degrees colder right now in culpeper than it was at this time yesterday morning. we're down almost 25 here in town and again near 30 in baltimore. a beautiful shot on our michael & son weather camera. joe on the controls for us this morning as the sunrise just a little while away. 35 degrees at national. feeling like 26. their wind is out of the north at 13. but most areas have light to calm winds with a dew point now 21. so the air is dried out. we're going to have sunny skies. you can see the patch of clouds we have overnight. there it goes quickly. not much coming toward us. this next system up here, this is going to stay mainly north although tomorrow, it will bring some slightly milder air in here. also a threat for a shower but it will warm us up into the 60s for the weekend. our forecast, temperatures this afternoon only in the mid-40s. thankfully the winds will be on the lighter side. tonight 20s and 30s again with increasing clouds. mostly cloudy friday. perhaps an afternoon late shower, 54. then on saturday leftover shower in the morning.

could be a couple of sprinkles friday night. 46 with sun in the afternoon. -- 64 with sun in the afternoon. sunday looks like more clouds, maybe a shower. redskins and ravens are playing at 1:00 right here on wusa. and upper 60s with potentialley a shower or storm on monday. >> thank you, howard. jessica has had all the fun being secret santa. joining me is a registered dietician and she's our secret santa with stocking ideas for the food lovers on your holiday list. good morning. >> good morning. >> the stocking stuffers sometimes are the hardest things to figure out but you have some great ideas. >> they're all $20 or less which is nice. first i'd like to start with this stainless steel microplain grater which has a protective cover which slides off, slides on the back side. you can grate your cheese and it catches it and measures it right there. >> you know if you have a cup or half a cup or whatever.

this one, i've lost a lot of fingernails and pieces of flesh. under $20. >> that's $17. >> very good. i like this. all in one tool. this is probably my favorite. the mini veggie chop. instead of pulling out a cumbersome food processor or plugging anything in or using batteries, you just take this and pull the handle. pull the handle. got to hold on to it. and it will be chop it. >> i'll have the expert do it. >> it might be the way it's stuck in here. you can use vegetables. you can use nuts. fruit in there. it just chop it is right up. good very good. you don't have to worry about the juice getting in your eye. >> this is for anyone who loves salad dressing or likes to make their own oil and vinegar mixtures at home. instead of pouring them in and shaking them up, you pour them in and gently press the handle.

very easy, no mess. these lunch boxes are all the rage because it keeps all of your food separate yet together in one piece. >> this is what it looks like inside the container. >> it comes with these leak proof -- these are from amazon. you have sauces, different dressings, either. >> under $20. >> under $20. >> finally santa used to give me apples and oranges at the bottom of the stocking and i appreciate the healthy gifts as a dietician. i brought pistachio, salt and pepper and sweet chili which has a sweet flavor and an extra kick of red chili pepper. >> i like the sound of that. what would you like in your christmas stocking as a foodie? >> i'm partial to this veggie chop because it's so small and you can put it under the cabinet. i love the microplain grater and some sweet treats, some nuts. >> she has a big christmas

stocking. >> yes, very big. >> hopefully it gets filled with everything you like. thanks for being with us. happy holidays to you. >> happy holidays. >> here's mike to answer our question of the morning. here we go. the question of the day once again was the average american woman buys 17 of these every year. the choices were a, is it a pair of shoes, b, bottles of wine or c, smartphone apps? well, i thought for sure shoes was too low of a number. the answer according to one of our facebook friends sharon says b, bottles of wine. 17 of those a year. we're back right after this.

welcome back. 6:54. your weather first.

much colder. it will be a sunny day. maybe a passing cloud this afternoon. 43 at lunch time with a high of a about 46. thankfully winds fairly light. andrea? >> thank you, howard. in our news before you go, the aurora, colorado movie theater where a gunman opened fire inside the latest batman movie in july will reopen early next year. the city's mayor says the theater will open to the public january 18. the president and first family will flip the switch for the 90th annual lighting of the national christmas tree later today. the host of this year's big event, neil patrick harris. our time right now 6:55. a live look there. one final check of weather and traffic when we return.

you like to bowl and you have a really ugly sweater? you can help out some kids in need. >> a holiday sweater. >> you can help kids out in feed, ugly sweater bowl-a-thon takes place at lucky street, 7th street northwest. the organization is called--

>> i don't have my glasses. >> something hope. i'm so sorry. >> holiday for hope. >> they get presents, food, entertainment. it's a big celebration so go out and help them out again 7:00 p.m. tonight. we have a school closure. mariellen henderson middle school in falls church. sinkhole there broke a suer line so that -- sewer line so that school is closed today. we have a chilly day. tonight back in the 20s and 30s. 54 tomorrow. we'll get out of this pretty quickly with an isolated shower friday night and saturday. 60s over the weekend. maybe a shower for the reds skins-ravens game right here on channel 9 1:00 sunday. >> pineapples for breakfast, anyone? on the outer loop of the beltway this truck carrying pineapples overturned at 2:00 this morning. delays begin all the way back toward 95. cbs this morning is next. we'll see you tomorrow starting bright and early at 4:25. have a great day. bye-bye.